Within this blog are the adventures of CancerGIrl and her Service Dog (SD for short) CancerGirl is a 32 year old woman who has been married for almost 15 years to a wonderful man, (we call him SH for short)
She has degenerative Disk Disease, and scoliosis. She was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer in July 2009.
This blog is her daily adventures of going to school, undergoing cancer treatment, founding a Non Profit ( http://www.hatsforhappiness.org/ ) and trying to maintain a marriage.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

CG had a phone session with SuperTherapist (ST) today. We discussed CG's upcoming trip to NJ. Now we all know that CG is a SuperHero, but even SH sometimes have their worries and insecurities in life. Well CG has been worried about her trip to NJ because she has been having seizures. She has been to the neurologist and had testing done and things are pretty ok on that front. Her concern is more of a interpersonal level. CG tries hard to never hurt anyones feelings, now this sometimes causes her to not speak up about things that are bothering her. Because of this she tends to put her own needs aside sometimes and then ends up regretting it later.

SuperDog has been wonderful about letting CG know about them before they happen, long before CG even gets the headache. CG is very afraid to go out without SD anywhere anymore, for fear that something bad will happen and CG wont know about it till it is too late, at least with SD she has some warning. Well, some people are uncomfortable with her or think she takes up too much room or she will be a bother. CG understands their concerns, but SD has been in Wal-Mart on Black Friday with CG, she is trained to go under a table (when CG gets her chair she will be taught to lay under it, taking up the same room as the chair) and if CG needs to go outside for a bit she can easily excuse herself as SD is trained to ask to go out on command if CG signals her, this way no one is asking "what's wrong?" She can discreetly leave without having to have someone go out with her. CG doesn't know how to explain this to people without it turning into an argument, so she is considerably concerned about this issue.

She would love to go out places with the people she loves, but sometimes CG decides that it is easier to decline a invitation then to worry about having to argue about the issue. I know a lot of people see it as they will be right there if anything happens, that they will make sure everything is ok, but it just is not possible, nor is it fair to anyone involved. Now instead of enjoying themselves, the ServicePerson (which is essentially the person offering to take care of things) now has to make sure that they are checking in with and taking care of CG. CG feels like she now can’t tell the SP that she wants to go home because she isn't feeling OK, whereas if SD is with her, CG is able to go outside, take care of what she needs to with SD and return to having a good time without anyone any the wiser. Not to mention that the point of CG having her SideKick SD is so that she can help her and so CG can be more independant and wont have to depend on others. Wihout SD there is no way CG would ever get on a flight by herself, go through a airport alone, one of them being the one of the top 3 largest airports. But because of having such a wonderful and dependable SideKick, CG is able to do these things without any worry and feels safe and secure.

Now ST pointed out that CG shouldnt have to defend her use of SD to anyone, and that she shouldnt have to explain anything to anyone, that SD is akin to having a cane and having to defend to someone their need to use that cane, and put in those terms it does seem kinda odd. CG does not write this to make anyone feel bad, and does not want anyone who reads this to feel bad about their views or thoughts on the issue. CG and SD understand that until they express their feeling and their needs, it is impossible for anyone else to understand where they are coming from and what they truly actually need.

There is a new CancerGirl Productions Video on Youtube that was posted this afternoon. Check it out below

… OK so maybe she didn't save the day, but she could have if there was actually a fire......….A fire you ask?????Yes a fire, which one would expect when a fire alarm goes off.I will get to that, but first, a few words from CancerGirl about her blog, why she hasn't written in months, and what has been going on with her and SD.When last we met, SuperDog and CancerGirl were starting the semester of school, that was back in September.The semester is over next week (Finals Yaaaaay) and in that time CG has yet to get her BiWheelTurboBoostedSuperHeroMovingDevice (known as wheelchair) through a never ending series of snafus and insurance delays. Hopefully she will be getting the BWTBSHMD next week some time, hopefully before she and SD take off for their trip up the coast to spread the SuperPower of Happiness to those up there.We also left CancerGirl in the beginning of her second round of chemo, which she did, while also taking an advanced algebra class. How does she do it you ask?? Well, she is a SuperHero after all, and she does have that handy SideKick SD. CG is almost completely bald now, SuperHubby having cut her hair shorter and shorter as it fell out in a pattern much alike that of male pattern baldness. Because of this CG has begun to realize just how cold ones head gets without the hair up top there. I am sorry to all the bald men out there, I feel your pain. CancerGirl has been sleeping in the Lair with a hoody sweatshirt on to keep her head warm. It has also prompted her to begin a mission to collect as many hats from as many people as possible and when she is done with them donate them to other cancer treatment centers for other people who have cancer and have lost their hair. CancerGirl is in the process of getting a PO Box to have hats sent to, and I will post a picture of the new hat I get daily on my blog. I am hoping to collect as many hats as I can from as many places as I can. I am calling it the CancerGirl CoverYourHead Project, or CYH for short. There will be more about that as things get set up for that.Ok, back to the fire alarm....Part of what SD is trained to do is hit the handicapped buttons at school. Since CG has known for a while now that her back is getting worse, she trained SD to do this task for her to help her out. The way it is supposed to work is as follows1. SD goes ahead of CG and hits handicapped button to open door2. CG walks toward opening door3. SD returns to heel position next to CG and they exit or enter the door together in a nice calm fashion

See Photo Below of SD hitting a different Handicapped button

Today it went more like this1. SD goes went ahead of CG and hit the handicapped button to open door2. On her way down from hitting the handicapped button SD's paw gets caught on and pulls down the fire alarm which is about 4 inches to the right on the same level as the handicapped button3. Fire alarm sounds, causing every classroom door to open and suddenly the halls fill up with students and professors all trying to get out of the building while the alarm continues to soundAt this point CG who is not very good with people invading her personal space and definitely doesn't do crowds, is standing in shock against the wall with SD standing across the front of her blocking the other students from coming too close. CG didn't know if she should just go outside and act like she didn't have any clue what happened?? Does she tell someone what happened and possibly get into trouble?? It is about this point that CG hears the sirens of a few police cars and a fire truck racing toward campus, while every person in every building on campus is now finishing evacuating their buildings. I assume that the fact that CG knew that there was no fire, led to her not having that great a sense of urgency to get out of the building. “Fire?? What fire?? There's no fire, just a SD who had poor aim” LOLA professor on her way toward evacuating stopped and said “You have to get out of the building” and I told her I was very sorry, yelling over the still blaring alarm (good thing CG is mostly deaf). She and CG walked outside while CG explained what happened. The professor laughed, which helped CG to not feel so petrified of the whole situation. She walked CG and SD over to the dean, who came to the building that the alarm went off in, and explained what happened. He was shocked, not only that something like that would happen, but that the fire alarm would be so close to the handicapped button.CG explained to the police and the fire chief who showed up what happened, and after a sweep of the building to make sure that was in fact what happened, we went inside and looked at the button and alarm. It was something I am sure no one would have thought of happening, and the dean discussed with the fire chief if it would be easier to move the handicapped button or the fire alarm.CG and SD continued on to her class and the rest of the day was pretty uneventful.CG is going to be posting to her blog a lot more, but it is going to be a lot less formal, without so many headings and such, just simple tellin ya how it is and if something comes up I want to tell you about like a favorite link or movie or whatnot, I will be sure to post links to it. Well till next time, dont forget to folow me on twitter, Follow me on Twitter , on myspace and facebook through the links on the right hand side of the page here.

… OK so maybe she didn't save the day, but she could have if there was actually a fire......

….A fire you ask?????

Yes a fire, which one would expect when a fire alarm goes off.

I will get to that, but first, a few words from CancerGirl about her blog, why she hasn't written in months, and what has been going on with her and SD.

When last we met, SuperDog and CancerGirl were starting the semester of school, that was back in September.

The semester is over next week (Finals Yaaaaay) and in that time CG has yet to get her BiWheelTurboBoostedSuperHeroMovingDevice (known as wheelchair) through a never ending series of snafus and insurance delays. Hopefully she will be getting the BWTBSHMD next week some time, hopefully before she and SD take off for their trip up the coast to spread the SuperPower of Happiness to those up there.

We also left CancerGirl in the beginning of her second round of chemo, which she did, while also taking an advanced algebra class. How does she do it you ask?? Well, she is a SuperHero after all, and she does have that handy SideKick SD. CG is almost completely bald now, SuperHubby having cut her hair shorter and shorter as it fell out in a pattern much alike that of male pattern baldness. Because of this CG has begun to realize just how cold ones head gets without the hair up top there. I am sorry to all the bald men out there, I feel your pain. CancerGirl has been sleeping in the Lair with a hoody sweatshirt on to keep her head warm. It has also prompted her to begin a mission to collect as many hats from as many people as possible and when she is done with them donate them to other cancer treatment centers for other people who have cancer and have lost their hair. CancerGirl is in the process of getting a PO Box to have hats sent to, and I will post a picture of the new hat I get daily on my blog. I am hoping to collect as many hats as I can from as many places as I can. I am calling it the CancerGirl CoverYourHead Project, or CYH for short. There will be more about that as things get set up for that.

Ok, back to the fire alarm....

Part of what SD is trained to do is hit the handicapped buttons at school. Since CG has known for a while now that her back is getting worse, she trained SD to do this task for her to help her out. The way it is supposed to work is as follows

SD goes ahead of CG and hits handicapped button to open door

CG walks toward opening door

SD returns to heel position next to CG and they exit or enter the door together in a nice calm fashion

See Photo Below of SD hitting a different Handicapped button

Today it went more like this

SD goes went ahead of CG and hit the handicapped button to open door

On her way down from hitting the handicapped button SD's paw gets caught on and pulls down the fire alarm which is about 4 inches to the right on the same level as the handicapped button

Fire alarm sounds, causing every classroom door to open and suddenly the halls fill up with students and professors all trying to get out of the building while the alarm continues to sound

At this point CG who is not very good with people invading her personal space and definitely doesn't do crowds, is standing in shock against the wall with SD standing across the front of her blocking the other students from coming too close. CG didn't know if she should just go outside and act like she didn't have any clue what happened?? Does she tell someone what happened and possibly get into trouble?? It is about this point that CG hears the sirens of a few police cars and a fire truck racing toward campus, while every person in every building on campus is now finishing evacuating their buildings. I assume that the fact that CG knew that there was no fire, led to her not having that great a sense of urgency to get out of the building. “Fire?? What fire?? There's no fire, just a SD who had poor aim” LOL

A professor on her way toward evacuating stopped and said “You have to get out of the building” and I told her I was very sorry, yelling over the still blaring alarm (good thing CG is mostly deaf). She and CG walked outside while CG explained what happened. The professor laughed, which helped CG to not feel so petrified of the whole situation. She walked CG and SD over to the dean, who came to the building that the alarm went off in, and explained what happened. He was shocked, not only that something like that would happen, but that the fire alarm would be so close to the handicapped button.

CG explained to the police and the fire chief who showed up what happened, and after a sweep of the building to make sure that was in fact what happened, we went inside and looked at the button and alarm. It was something I am sure no one would have thought of happening, and the dean discussed with the fire chief if it would be easier to move the handicapped button or the fire alarm.

CG and SD continued on to her class and the rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

CG is going to be posting to her blog a lot more, but it is going to be a lot less formal, without so many headings and such, just simple tellin ya how it is and if something comes up I want to tell you about like a favorite link or movie or whatnot, I will be sure to post links to it.

Well till next time, dont forget to folow me on twitter, Follow me on Twitter , on myspace and facebook through the links on the right hand side of the page here.

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Who Is CancerGirl???

CancerGirl is a 32 year old woman who has a canine sidekick who she uses as her Service Dog . who we will call “SD” in this blog, We tell her that SD stands for Super Dog, so PLEASE keep it a secret. She would be crushed if she knew the truth.
CancerGirl has been married to a wonderful man for the past 15 years. (who we call “SH” as he truly is a SuperHusband)
She lives in Paradise where she attends college and is going for her degree in Social Work.
She was diagnosed in July of 2009 with Uterine Cancer. But because CancerGirl is immortal (like all superheros are) she is not overly concerned with such things.
Well, thats a little about CancerGirl, come join her list of spotters and follow her on her adventure through day to day life dealing with school, cancer treatment, and being a SW (Super Wife) to her SH.